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22 October 2012

Potty Training Bloopers

As the days get shorter, the temperature gets brisker and the leaves slowly fall off the trees, the Potty Chronicles continue here in north Denver. Following Lila's impressive performance during the diaper-free weekend, we've had pretty consistent success with the potty. If she doesn't have pants on, she totally rocks the potty. And if she does, well, let's just say we've had some wet spots. Because of this issue, we typically put diapers on her when we leave the house. Except when we forget. Whoops.

During the diaper-free weekend, Lila and I visited a great new consignment store near our house. Lila had peed before we left for a trip for Target and then a quick stop to the consignment store. I tried to have her pee at Target as well, but she's a bit shy when it comes to big toilets. I figured I had a little more time and stopped in the store. And then I completely forgot that she was diaper free. She went to sit down on some kids chairs situated in a corner. Pretty soon, she said, "Mommy, I need to potty." And by need to potty, she meant that the pee was already running down her leg and pooling at her feet. Without anything to clean the mess up, I alerted the staff and promptly left the store. They were very understanding. The floor was concrete after all. Point made, Lila: No excursions without diapers.

We continued with that philosophy until last weekend when we went grocery shopping armed with an extra set of clothes. Nate was convinced that we just say no more diapers and deal with the consequences. Lila didn't even make it to the grocery store without having an accident. She peed in her seat. I changed her and figured we had an hour or two before we would be in trouble again. I tried to have her pee in the store bathroom, but the big toilet was a no go.

Since Crate and Barrel is on the way home from the grocery store, we decided to go check some rugs out. We've lived in our house for four years without a rug in the living room. It was high time to bite the bullet. Nate took Lila to the bathroom to see if he could have any luck. Just as we were about to ask for some rug samples, Lila climbed into a leather chair and said, "Mommy, I need to potty." She COVERED that chair with pee. This time the staff was not as understanding and rushed to the back to grab some leather cleaner. Although I understand that we probably shouldn't allow our children to climb on nice furniture with or without diapers, I thought the scene was rather funny. The kids and I slunk out of the store while Nate finished up.

Today Lila and I were out of the house for most of the day (it was 75 degrees here!). But whenever I asked her to use the potty, she happily obliged. She is definitely successful about four or five times a day. Then I forgot that she was just in pants. She and Benny were building forts in the living room and she was jumping on the couch. Suddenly, "Mommy, I need to potty." Karma! Luckily all of the cushions were on the floor for the fort!